


there's peace in my soul when i'm near her

by bayaningbituon



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/F, Getting Together, Stevie Budd is a Lesbian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21718324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bayaningbituon/pseuds/bayaningbituon
Summary: As she reaches the door, she feels the ever-familiar flutter of butterflies in her stomach, more intense than they ever have been before. She knocks on the door, and when it opens, she feels like those butterflies were trying to prepare her.But nothing could prepare her for this.Alexis stands before her, hair in a messy top-knot of blonde curls, bare-faced and grinning widely. Her skin is dewy and damp, having just been washed, and the visage of casual, makeup-free Alexis in cute, pink pajamas and bunny slippers instead of in her usual fashionable clothes and very tall heels with a full face of makeup—it makes Stevie’s throat close up with nerves. It makes her feel so special, and it makes her want to lean in to that feeling in her chest, that feeling that’s been building since she was young and kissed a girl for the first time.orIt's Stevie's birthday, and Alexis decides to pamper her.
Relationships: Stevie Budd/Alexis Rose
Comments: 23
Kudos: 78





	there's peace in my soul when i'm near her

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shewitches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewitches/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELBY!!! Sorry this is so late! I wanted to get this done on your actual birthday, but the drabble I had planned turned into a longer fic, and I'm not the fastest writer.
> 
> I hope this puts a smile on your face and makes your heart warm. I love you so much and I am so thankful that you're in my life, and I hope this fic makes you happy. 
> 
> This is unbetaed, although [Emma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathbysandblk/pseuds/deathbysandblk) did read over it to make sure it was a good story to post lol
> 
> Anyways, Stevie Budd is a lesbian! Enjoy!

Stevie has kissed girls before. 

In a small town where nothing happens, where everybody knows everybody and there’s no way out, teenagers get bored. So she’s been to the barn parties and she’s played Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven with most of the boys and girls in Schitt’s Creek.

She knows the feelings of Ted’s tentative lips against her cheek, the feeling of Mutt’s beard scratching against the sensitive skin of her neck, the feeling of Twyla’s soft mouth on hers. 

For the most part, she didn’t really consider herself as bisexual or lesbian. Most of the girls she kissed considered themselves straight, so she did too. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach every time she kissed a girl, every time she noticed Melissa’s collarbones or Lizzie’s mouth or Caroline’s tits.

And for most of her life, that willful ignorance has worked. She lived in that space of mediocrity and averageness, and everything was... _fine_. It was alright. The sex was okay and the guys were meh, and the job was a job, and life moved on.

But then the Roses sweep into her life, a gaggle of loud, unapologetic peacocks in human form that change Schitt’s Creek forever. 

And somehow, for the better.

And now she’s here, sitting behind the familiar desk in the office of the now-termed Rosebud Motel, a flush rising on her face as they stand before her.

They, along with Patrick, are singing her happy birthday with a birthday cake—chocolate frosting with loopy pink writing declaring ‘Happy Birthday Steve’—sitting in front of her, a solitary blue candle lit. 

Everyone is singing in different pitches, and Alexis is way off-key, but somehow it was still absolutely perfect. She looks away and blinks rapidly against the tears springing to her eyes, and she clears her throat a couple of times against the choked up feeling rising in her.

She turns her gaze back to the group in front of her as they finish singing and catches David’s wink and knowing smile at her emotional state. She narrows her gaze at him playfully, before turning back to everyone else. “T-thank you,” she stutters, flustered at the attention. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t even know that you all knew it was my birthday!”

Alexis leans against the desk and boops her on the nose playfully. Unused to the action, Stevie startles minutely, as Alexis gestures at the cake with limp-wristed hands. “Oh my god Stevie, don’t even worry about it! David told us that it was your birthday, and I thought it would be _nice_ if we like, celebrated, so we got a cake and then dinner, from that little pizza place you like in Elmdale. And wine, of course,” she finishes with one of her little half-winks that always makes Stevie smile. 

“And,” David replies with a smirk, “since it _is_ your birthday, you shouldn’t be wallowing home alone. So, you can have my bed at the motel for the night. Patrick has _kindly_ offered to take me in for the night. You and Alexis can do face masks and wine.”

Alexis visibly brightens, and she shimmies her shoulders with every syllable as she squeals, “Yes, Stevie, it’ll be so much fun!”

Stevie glares at David’s triumphant expression and snarks, “Yeah, I’m sure Patrick has offered you a side of his bed out of the kindness of his heart, and not for _any other reason whatsoever_.”

Patrick clears his throat, blushing slightly at the allusion of his and David’s...nighttime activities near David’s parents. He attempts to deflect attention as he gestures at the cake. “Stevie, why-why don’t you um, blow out the candle and make a wish?”

“Yes, Stevie,” Mr. Rose encourages, waving his hands in encouragement. “Blow it out.”

Moira adds, hands clasped together in front of her, “And do make sure that you wish for something serendipitous, Stevie. I think we all can use a little bit of that around here.”

Stevie bites her lower lip, glancing around at everyone’s warm smiles, before looking back down at the cake. Her name is misspelled, and the flavor isn’t her favorite, but it is still the first birthday celebration she has had in a very long time. She takes a deep breath, before blowing out the candle. She doesn’t wish for anything specific, but carries that warm feeling in her heart and wishes it could last forever.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Rose had already retired for the night, and Alexis had gone ahead to her room to “get the face masks ready.” Patrick shuffles around the room, cleaning up the last dregs of the impromptu birthday party, before walking over to David and Stevie, who were still sitting on the sofa drinking wine. 

Patrick leans over and kisses David gently before murmuring to him, “I’ll be in the car, okay?” He straightens up, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He smiles gently at Stevie and says with that tone of genuine care that always embarrasses Stevie, “Happy birthday, Stevie! Have a good night with Alexis.”

He then leaves, shutting the door gently behind him, leaving the two of them on the couch together. 

“David,” she says, in a mock-serious tone, “Patrick is _entirely_ too nice. It’s overwhelming.”

David rolls his eyes and reminds her, “You two met and bonded over me and my lice-based trauma, so I don’t think he’s _too_ nice.” But the smile lingering at his lips betrays his true feelings.

Stevie nudges him with her elbow and asks, “So how’s it going with you two?”

He cocks his head and replies with an upturned smile, “It’s uh, it’s good. It’s great. He is going to be performing a song tomorrow at the store, so I don’t know how long it’s going to _be_ great, but so far so good.”

Stevie throws her head back and cackles. “Oh yeah, I forgot you told me that! God I hope he plays something cliche like Wonderwall.”

“Ugh, please don’t. It’s going so well, Wonderwall will just throw a wrench in everything.”

“You’ll be fine, David. Your handsome boyfriend is gonna sing you a song, that’s usually not a problem for people,” she replies with an eye-roll as she drains the last of her wine.

He sighs in reply and hands her his glass. “Whatever. I hope you know that you’ll be rescuing me tomorrow if he plays _anything_ terrible. And you’ll be rescuing him from himself. So be prepared for that.” He then stands, grabbing his phone from the table. “Alright, well have fun being pampered tonight, Miss Birthday Girl, and I will see you tomorrow.”

He moves towards the door, but Stevie grabs his hand, stopping him. When he looks at her in askance, she asks him, “Why are you really doing this, David? Is it what I told you last time we got drunk?”

Last time they got drunk, she confessed her brief dalliances with girls when she was younger. She told him about how she never really felt anything better than fine when it came to sex with men. About how she ignored every flutter of nerves and attraction to girls when she was younger, especially when they claimed to be straight immediately afterwards. About how she got butterflies every time she was near Alexis, and about just how beautiful and radiant she always found her. 

So, this whole situation with being alone with Alexis? Not ideal for her and for that wall she had built around herself. 

He smirks at her and says, “As much as I want to take credit for the situation, _Alexis_ actually had the idea to pamper you for your birthday. But if you do end up dating my sister or whatever, it would be fine, great even. A _little_ weird, because you’ve had sex with me,” and at this, his nose wrinkles involuntarily at the memory. “But it would be great. You two would be really good together. And if nothing happens, that would also be fine.”

He perches himself against the armrest of the couch and continues, starting at her seriously. “But no matter what, Stevie, you deserve to feel better than meh about your relationships. You deserve better than okay sex. And if you do like women, you know that’s fine right?”

Stevie sighs, drinking the last drops of wine from David’s glass. “This is too deep for my birthday, David. But, thank you.”

David rubs his hand comfortingly on her shoulder and replies, “You’re very welcome. Now, I have an impatient boyfriend waiting in the car for me, and you have my sister waiting for you. So have fun and don’t have sex on my bed.”

Stevie flounders at that last part, before flashing David the finger in reply. David laughs at the gesture and walks out of the door with a gleeful wave. 

She sighs and grabs the last bottle of wine from the table. After taking a cursory glance around the office to make sure everything is turned off, she exits, closing the door and locking it behind her. She trudges over to room seven, carrying the bottle in her arms like a baby. 

As she reaches the door, she feels the ever-familiar flutter of butterflies in her stomach, more intense than they ever have been before. She knocks on the door, and when it opens, she feels like those butterflies were trying to prepare her.

But nothing could prepare her for this. 

Alexis stands before her, hair in a messy top-knot of blonde curls, bare-faced and grinning widely. Her skin is dewy and damp, having just been washed, and the visage of casual, makeup-free Alexis in cute, pink pajamas and bunny slippers instead of in her usual fashionable clothes and very tall heels with a full face of makeup—it makes Stevie’s throat close up with nerves. It makes her feel so special, and it makes her want to lean in to that feeling in her chest, that feeling that’s been building since she was young and kissed a girl for the first time. 

Stevie clears her throat and waves awkwardly. “H-Hey, I’m here for my birthday pampering.”

Alexis squeals and grabs her by the forearms, pulling her into the room. “I’m so excited for this Stevie!” She closes the door and maneuvers Stevie onto David’s bed. “Now, since it’s your birthday, I don’t want you to worry about a _thing_. I am just gonna make sure your cute little face is pampered and glowing,” she says, patting Stevie’s face lightly. 

Stevie smiles awkwardly at the attention, placing the wine on the nightstand. “Thank you. So, how are we gonna do this?”

“Oh,” Alexis replies, gesturing to the bathroom. “Just like, wash your face in there. Use that cleanser I put out; it is gonna feel all like, tingling and cool and refreshing. And then, um, change into pajamas and come back out and we’ll do some face mask fun!”

Stevie stands abruptly, glad at the excuse to put a door between her and this new Alexis, who is still the same bubbly, confident glam person, but new in the way that she kept directing lipstick-free smiles at Stevie, in that she kept touching Stevie’s face and arms and sending electricity racing down her spine. 

She would’ve been more comfortable at home, eating pizza in bed. 

But she would’ve also been alone.

So she musters up a small smile and mumbles, “Well, I’m just gonna…” before entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. She covers her mouth with both hands and takes a deep, fortifying breath before walking over to the sink. She looks at her face, blotched with pink from just being near Alexis, and sighs. “Get it together, Budd,” she says to herself ruefully. 

Letting the faucet run until the water is warm, she leans forward and cups her hands to gather the water before splashing it on her face. She fumbles for the cleanser, opening the cap and squeezing out a dollop of the light blue cleanser on her fingertips. She rubs the cleanser into a lather and spreads it over her damp face. Immediately, she recognizes the cooling, tingling feeling that Alexis mentioned, and hums happily at the sensation. 

After washing the cleanser off, she dries her face with the nearby towel and looks at the pair of pajamas arranged nicely in a basket on top of the toilet lid. She smiles at Alexis’s thoughtfulness, of her arranging the cleanser and pajamas nicely for Stevie’s pampering night even though she knew that Stevie would be perfectly okay sleeping in her clothes. 

She quickly changes into the luxurious, silk pajamas and laughs a little at the unfamiliar image in the mirror, before exiting the bathroom. “You sure I should be borrowing these?” she asks Alexis. “They feel expensive.”

“Oh they are,” Alexis replies nonchalantly from her bed. “But tonight is your night, babe, so don’t even worry about it! Now sit here,” she gestures to the floor in front of her. 

Stevie, halfway to David’s bed, freezes. “Um, on the floor?” she asks haltingly. Being so close to Alexis and her...everything, probably isn’t the _greatest_ idea in her current state of slightly inebriated infatuation.

Alexis misinterprets her hesitation and rolls her eyes. “No, I know, the floor is,” and then does a dramatic, full body shiver. “But, I put a pillow down there so you don’t have to touch it. I just want to do a little something to your hair.”

“To my hair?” she asks, immediately stroking the ends of her hair. “Is that really necessary?”

Alexis just looks at her seriously, and Stevie finds herself sitting on the floor gingerly between Alexis’s legs, facing David’s bed. She tenses at the feeling of fingertips against her scalp, and Alexis says soothingly, “Relax, Stevie, I’m just gonna do a little something to like, keep your hair of the way. Otherwise, the mask will just get all up in here and we don’t want that!”

“Okay,” Stevie replies quietly, marveling at the sensation of fingers running through her hair. She can’t remember a time when someone took the time to just...sit with her and tenderly stroke her hair. The repetitive stroking of light fingers is just so soothing, and she feels herself unwittingly relaxing back against the side of the bed. 

Her head lists to the side and rests against the inside of Alexis’s knee before she even realizes it, and she jerks her head back quickly, muttering an apology. Alexis pats her head softly and nudges it back on her knee. “It’s totally fine, Stevie, just relax.”

She tentatively settles her head back against Alexis’s knee, and then there’s just a peaceful silence as she just focuses on Alexis’s fingertips, soft and steady as they run through her wavy hair. 

She doesn’t realize that her eyes have slipped shut until Alexis lightly strokes the top of her ears. “Okay, all done,” Alexis says cheerfully, and Stevie’s eyes blink open hastily. 

“Oh, okay,” Stevie says, and stands back up, hair arranged in a fishtail braid. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Alexis says, smiling widely. “You look so cute in your little braid! Now sit,” she pats the mattress near the head of the bed. “And we can do some face masks!”

Stevie climbs onto the bed and sits cross-legged against the headboard. Alexis sits across from her, plopping a pink bag of face masks between them. She leans forward and peers seriously at Stevie, and Stevie leans back a little at the scrutiny. 

After a moment, in which Stevie could feel the blush appearing on her face and a tingling at her fingertips at the focused attention, Alexis straightens with a smile. “I know just the face mask for you, babe!” She reaches in and takes out a small glass jar from the bag.

Unscrewing the jar, Alexis dips a finger in the green goop and then reaches for Stevie’s face. Stevie, who wasn’t expecting Alexis to apply the face mask onto her, flinches back slightly. “Oh, are you-are you going to put it on me? I thought I was gonna put it on myself.”

Alexis gives her a sly look before doing one of her cute little half-winks. “Yeah, but I’m trying to _pamper_ you, Stevie. So, can I?”

Stevie’s mouth dries, and she feels her heart beat loudly in her ears. She nods minutely and watches Alexis lean closer to her, as if from a dream. She gets a whiff of Alexis’s perfume—something light and refreshing and a little bit floral—and as Alexis’s gaze focuses on Stevie’s cheek, Stevie can’t look away from Alexis’s _everything_. Her smooth skin, her clear blue eyes, the little purse of her mouth as she concentrates on spreading the clay mask on Stevie. 

Her mouth is so close and suddenly it’s all Stevie can focus on. She’s definitely had _thoughts_ on Alexis’s mouth before, but she’s never been _so fucking close_. She leans forward, almost by instinct, interrupting Alexis’s mask application. 

Alexis, with a confused furrow to her brow, locks gazes with her. “Stevie, what—”

But Stevie, with a steady thread of determination fueled by half a bottle of wine and the intoxicating effect of Alexis’s face so close to her, interrupts her question with a kiss. She feels the clay goop on her cheek smear against Alexis’s cheek, but the elation that she’s feeling, the swooping sensation in her stomach that feels like she just jumped into a freefall, is so intense that she can barely notice the mask.

She kisses Alexis tentatively at first, a soft brushing of her lips against Alexis’s velvet lips. When she feels Alexis respond, she deepens the kiss, tasting the lavender lip gloss on her lips and the faint taste of frosting as their tongues meet. Heat pools deep in her belly as she loops her left arm around Alexis’s neck, pulling her closer as she strokes her cheek with her right hand, thumb rubbing against her dewy cheek.

They exchange heated kisses for a moment more before Alexis pulls away with a small giggle.

That feeling—the feeling of the girl pulling away, of making excuses and telling her that they were straight—is so familiar, and she feels a sinking sensation in her chest, a deeper disappointment, perhaps because Alexis was so different, and perhaps because she’s felt drawn to Alexis in ways she’s never felt drawn to anyone else.

Alexis rubs some of the smudged clay still on Stevie’s cheek and smiles, slow and impish. “Well, I can’t say I haven’t been _hoping_ that you would do that, Stevie.”

Stevie braces herself and asks tentatively, “But…?”

Alexis blinks owlishly and repeats blankly, “But…?”

Stevie presses her lips together, before admitting, “Well, it’s just, this is usually when the girl I’m kissing tells me that this was fun and all, but they’re straight, so I guess I’m just waiting for that?”

“But, I’m not straight,” Alexis replies casually.

“Y-you’re not?” Stevie asks, surprise cracking her voice slightly.

“Nope,” she says cheerfully. “I’m bi. _And_ , I only pulled away because you’re smearing the clay mask everywhere.” She takes a container of facial wipes from the bag and opens it, taking out a wet facial wipe smelling faintly floral. She wipes the clay mask off her face, and then reaches over and gently rubs away the remaining mask off Stevie’s face. 

After throwing the wipe away, Stevie and Alexis just grin wildly at each other. Stevie breaks the silence, her finger lazily circling Alexis’s knee. “So, this is good? We’re good?”

Alexis leans forward and kisses her gently before and after each word, “Yes, we’re good.”

Stevie, in a hushed voice, confesses, “I’ve never, you know, never let myself admit it, because every girl that I’ve ever kissed has either forgotten about it, or you know, told me that they were straight and they were just experimenting or doing it for their boyfriends. So I always ignored it, but um, I drank half a bottle of wine and it’s my birthday and I am sitting on a bed with you after having just _kissed_ you, so I’m gonna say this out loud right now: I am pretty fucking sure I’m a lesbian.”

Alexis’s gaze softens, and she replies, “Thank you, for trusting me with that. And uh, I promise I’m not straight, and I promise I won’t forget.”

They kiss again, one, two, three times, each one a revelation, a discovery of how Alexis feels in her arms, how Alexis’s eyelashes flutters feel against her skin, how Alexis _tastes_. 

They break apart slowly, and Stevie clears her throat before asking hoarsely, “So um, tomorrow? What are you up to?”

“Isn’t tomorrow like, the open mic thing at the store?”

“Hmm, it is,” Stevie nods mock-seriously. “And we _could_ go there, offer support for David during his trying times of his boyfriend singing him a song, _or,_ we could go out somewhere?”

Alexis grins at Stevie and boops her on the nose in excitement. “Ooh yay Stevie! I am definitely into that.”

“Great,” she replies, exhilarated. “Then it’s a date.”

“It is definitely a date,” Alexis replies, and as they return to kissing each other, Stevie can say with a hundred percent certainty, that this is the best fucking birthday she has ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously Twyla isn't straight, I wouldn't do that to poor Twyla. But Twyla did forget all about kissing Stevie, and Stevie took that as a ploy even though poor Twyla really did forget. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you've enjoyed this fic! (ESPECIALLY YOU SHELBEL)


End file.
